A Beechcraft King Air B200 (VH-ZCR) charter plane on take-off from Essendon airport (YMES) crashed into a Melbourne shopping complex Tuesday morning killing all five people on board and sparking a massive blaze.

The Beechcraft aircraft believed to be involved in this incident. Photo: Jetphotos.com/George Canciani

Victoria Police Assistant Commissioner Stephen Leane confirmed no one on board the plane survived the tragedy, but declined to give details of the victims.

Assistant Commissioner Leane said it is believed there were no fatalities apart from those in the plane. The Beechcraft King Air, five-person charter flight to King Island crashed soon after take off from Essendon Airport in the city’s north at 9:00 am.

The pilot was aged in his 60s and his four passengers were American tourists, Channel Seven reported.

The Advocate newspaper in Tasmania quoted a source on King Island as saying the plane was carrying golfers.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews refused to confirm any details of the passengers’ identities.

“We are currently reaching out to their families to provide them with the support that they need to try to comfort them at what must be just such a horrible moment,” he told a media conference.

Australian Corporate Jet Centres told the ABC the plane (shown above is now operated by boutique private charter flight operator Corporate and Leisure Aviation based at Essendon airport.

The plane called mayday as it was taking off and Victoria Police Superintendent Mick Frewen said it appeared to be affected by a “catastrophic engine failure”

The plane crashed into the back of two shops, Focus on Furniture and JB HiFi, he said.

Police are yet to release any details of possible casualties.

More than 16 fire crews fought to put out the blaze at the DFO factory outlet complex near Bulla Rd in Essendon Fields.

“It appears a light plane, which is a charter flight, has impacted the DFO [shopping centre] at Essendon Fields. “There’s also debris that’s been left on the [Tullamarine] freeway.”

Victorian Emergency Management Commissioner Craig Lapsley told a media conference Essendon Airport would be closed until further notice while the investigation into the cause of the crash get underway.

He said in-bound lanes of the Tullamarine Freeway would remain closed for a number of hours until that can be cleared and evidence collected evidence for the investigation.

An emergency services spokesman at the scene said motorists should avoid the area.

“Our advice to motorists is find an alternative route. We just want to make sure that’s preserved as much as possible,” he said.

“We are awaiting CASA advice and the Bureau of Air Safety.”

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau has asked witnesses to the plane crash to call 1800 020 616 to help with its investigation.

Photo: Mike Fosberg

Fire Under control

A spokeswoman from the Metropolitan Fire Brigade said DFO fire was brought under control about 10:30 am.

It took about 56 fire fighters 90 minutes to bring the blaze, caused by the plane crash, under control, the MFB said.

“The fire has been brought under control and the incident has been handed over to Victoria Police.”

Mr Andrews praised the work of firefighters.

“This was a very complex and unpredictable fire, but our highly skilled trained firefighter efforts have done an outstanding job in extinguishing this blaze,” he said.

The shopping centre was yet to open, but the wellbeing of all staff at the complex has not been confirmed.

A spokesperson from furniture retailer Nick Scali confirmed the store was staffed at the time, but could not confirm whether any were affected.

Retailer Spotlight, a tenant at the DFO complex issued a statement confirming the aircraft crashed into its rear warehouse and that “all staff had been accounted for”.

A spokesperson from another tenant, Focus on Furniture, told The New Daily that no staff were at the store at the time of the crash.

JB HiFi and the Good Guys both confirmed all staff are accounted for.
‘It was shaking’

Nick Scali employee Grace Martin told The New Daily she was sitting outside the shopping complex when she saw the plane.

“I saw the plane flying across the top of the roof and it was shaking,” she said.

“I ran across to Dan Murphy’s. I heard the big bang and saw all the flames. This is just really sad.”

Nearby resident Max Paladino told The New Daily he ran over to the crash site workers from a nearby construction site to see if he could help.

“It was just adrenaline,” he said. “There was no way possible we could do anything.

The operator of an airport fire engine that ran a red light and killed three people in a crash has been ordered to pay $160,000 to the Commonwealth for breaching the Occupational Health and Safety Act.

The main argument was that Airservices failed to give appropriate training to its employees and did not identify risks to its employees or other road users.

Justice John Reeves today handed down his judgment finding Airservices breached the act and ordered it to pay the fine.

Justice Reeves noted the “airport fire engine was much larger than the majority of other vehicles driven on public roads, and the potential for serious injury and damage if they come into collision with another vehicle or a pedestrian is obvious”.

What’s the best way to counter an unwelcome drone: a bigger, faster drone, laser guns, sky-high netting or devices that block remote controls?

Scientists, governments and companies are now scrambling to find out.

Concerned about a recent spate of mystery drones flying over its nuclear plants, military installations and even the presidential palace, France has asked scientists to help devise ways to counteract the small — and so far harmless — motorized menaces overhead.

World powers such as China and the United States are also gearing up against the potential threat. Here’s a look at the situation — and possible high-tech solutions.

WHAT’S THE PROBLEM?
Civilian drones have become a 21st-century hobby and a hot seller for many, from high-tech aficionados to curious kids. Companies like Amazon even want to use drones for deliveries. But their increasing presence in the skies gives headaches to national security chiefs.

A small drone crashed on the White House lawn last week. This event exposes the complexities and concerns that may need to be considered as the FAA proceeds in attempting to create legislation on remote or autonomous aerial vehicle use. It also serves as a reminder of just how difficult it can be to secure a building like the White House. The timing of the crash is unfortunate, coming just a week after various representatives from small-drone businesses convened in Washington DC to appeal to lawmakers for FAA requirements that won’t stifle the nascent industry.

It also comes only days after a hexacopter carrying a load of crystal meth crashed into a Tijuana parking lot near the US-Mexico border.

For months, France has faced dozens of drone over flights over sensitive sites — mostly nuclear facilities, a worrisome development in a country that gets the highest percentage of its energy in the world from atomic power.

French authorities say the drones currently present no threat. But some fear the drones could be spying on French technology or could one day be equipped with bombs or other weapons. Authorities have stepped up security at French nuclear sites and are investigating who might be behind the drone flights.

The possible and very real risks of rogue drones include terrorism, the invasion of privacy, the theft of industry secrets, and “damage to the credibility of public authorities, institutions or companies,” said France’s National Research Agency.

HARMLESS, FOR NOW
Up to now, the intrusions have been innocuous: These are not rocket-blasting military drones the size of planes like those used by the United States against al-Qaida. But authorities are trying to head off the moment when advanced drones get into the hands of militants.

It could be very difficult to identify a drone. Most flights would of short duration, unlikely to be picked up by radar, leaving any sort of response to be problematic. And most of these flights would be carried out by hobbyists who have flown RC aircraft for years. Are authorities over-reacting in these times of heightened security awareness?

There is a increasing move for the legitimate use of drones by various public service organisations to enhance their regulatory function, and certain private users:

Police forces see a benefit to assist them in law enforcement, searching for missing persons, traffic management and searching premises or locations for offenders.

Fire departments using then for aerial views of fires in structures and the extent of bush/forest/wildfires.

National parks rangers using them to check on wildlife habitats, animal numbers and identify poachers.

Industrial users checking on elevated structures to check integrity of those structures.

News services seeking aerial views of news stories. CNN has already been cleared by the FAA to test the use drones in news gathering.

A CALL FOR CREATIVITY
On Tuesday, a French national security and defence agency under the prime minister closed the books on a call for bids to fund a drone interception system. It hopes to have at least some drone defences operational in the next 18 months. The agency’s classified list of 200 to 300 national companies considered “vital” — in sectors like energy, transportation and finance — would be among the likely early beneficiaries.

“We have made a proposal to the scientific community to see what best emerges,” said Karine Delmouly, a project manager at the National Research Agency, or ANR, which is vetting the proposals. She declined to discuss specifics or say how many companies made bids.

The French security official said the call for proposals drew a substantial response.

WHAT’S THE GOAL?
France wants to monitor and detect intruding drones and their remote-control pilots; analyse and track their flight paths; and ultimately neutralize the drones — either temporarily or permanently — with the least collateral damage possible, the ANR said in its call for bids.

For developers, a winning bid could offer an entrée into a huge potential market in the coming years.

HIGH TECH OPTIONS
As for the options, the sky may be the limit. Anti-drone devices could include pinpoint radar systems to track drones the size of a breadbasket or even smaller (and distinguish them from birds); high-tech lasers to destroy the unwanted intruders or telecommunications-scrambling systems to block the remote controls that direct them. Interception drones could be sent up into the sky to fight back and low-tech solutions such as sky-high netting or fences could also work, officials say.

ALREADY WORKING ON IT
Some countries are already working to counter unwanted drones. State media in China say Chinese scientists have developed a laser weapon that can detect and shoot down small, low-flying and slow-moving aircraft inside a 2-kilometer (1.2-mile) radius.

Private-sector companies are also tackling the problem. China’s DJI Technology Co. said Wednesday it will send a software update this week for its drones’ navigation system that will block them from flying over Washington, accelerating the release after the White House incident involving its 50-centimeter-long (two-foot-long) Phantom quad copter. Company spokesman Michael Perry said the DJI drones use a GPS-linked navigation system that already blocks them from “no-fly” zones around 700 airports worldwide.

LET’S SEE ONE IN ACTION
French media in recent days picked up a promotional video from Malou Tech, a small start-up linked to telecommunications company Groupe Assmann, that showed a six-bladed black drone carrying a net which intercepts and catches a smaller red drone. The company chief, Philippe Dubus, said the firm was not taking part in the French bid, calling instead to encourage the responsible use of civilian drones.

“This is a technology phenomenon, not an aeronautical phenomenon,” said Dubus, adding “within 18 months, whatever they come up with will be obsolete already.”

Still, his company carried out tests Wednesday in which a DJI F550, a relatively old-model drone, successfully dropped a half-litre (16-ounce) bottle of water by remote control.

Low cloud and rain has hindered Australian efforts to find debris seen yesterday 2,500km south-west of Perth, that may be linked to the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. A pilot returning from the search zone described the weather conditions as “extremely bad”.

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) is intensifying their efforts to identify two objects seen on an commercial satellite images in a remote area of the southern Indian Ocean, 2,500 kilometres south-west of Perth.

The large objects, which were spotted by satellite five days ago, are the most promising find in days as searchers scour a vast area for flight MH370, which is lost with 239 people on board, including six Australians.

An RAAF Orion plane was unable to locate the debris overnight because of limited visibility from cloud and rain. “The weather conditions were such that we were unable to see for very much of the flight today but the other aircraft that are searching, they may have better conditions,” Flight Lieutenant Chris Birrer told reporters.

A reporter aboard a US Navy aircraft told America’s ABC network that their sweeps of the area yesterday only turned up a freighter and several pods of dolphins.

“This is a plane that gets very close to the water, most of the time we were skimming at about 300 feet (about 90 metres) above the water – you could see a basketball if it were in the water,” he said.

“Plus they had high-tech radar, sweeping 16 miles (about 25km) on each side of the plane. If there was something there, this plane surely would have spotted it.”

Hoegh St. Petersburg – courtesy Hoegh Autoliners

Australian search planes will continue the hunt for the debris today, along with aircraft from the US and New Zealand. Also, a Norwegian ship the Hoegh St Petersburg (a RO-RO car carrier) has arrived in the 23,000-square-km search zone last night after diverting its route from Port Louis in Mauritius to Melbourne, after responding to an Australian request for assistance. The ship will travel back and forth over a set route in an attempt to identify the objects seen by the sattelite. The ship however does not have capacity to lift any found objects out of the sea.

Another merchant ship is travelling to the area, one of six involved in the search since a shipping broadcast was issued last Monday night.

Residents in the Maldives report seeing a low flying aircraft on the morning that Flight MH370 went missing. The jet was described as being white with red stripes, similar to the Malaysia airline livery, and flew over the island of Kudahuvadhoo making an incredibly loud noise as it flew low across the sky.

Residents claim the plane flew towards Addu Atoll near the southern tip of the Maldives.

This sighting fits the theory proposed by Chris Goodfellow, that suggests MH370 suffered a catastrophic on board fire, and turned back for an emergency landing at Langkawi International Airport, as this airport was nearer than Kuala Lumpur and offered a easier approach. However it is then possible that the aircraft flight crew were overcome by toxic smoke and the aircraft flew on over Langkawi in a south-westerly direction to the Maldives.

Maldives – possible track taken by MH370

Extrapolate the direction of travel westward from the point the aircraft was last “seen”, through Langkawi, and this puts the aircraft in the vicinity of the Maldives at approximately the correct time. Chris suggests that search efforts should be concentrated to the west of the Maldives.

However, if this theory was correct, would not the aircraft be picked up firstly by radar at WMKL as it passed overhead, and then by military radar from the joint RAF/USAF installation on Diego Garcia (FJDG), to the south of the Maldives?

This Is Me

George Brown is a decorated soldier and health professional and 40 year veteran in the field of emergency nursing and paramedical practice, both military and civilian areas. He has senior management positions in the delivery of paramedical services. Opinions expressed in these columns are solely those of the author and should not be construed as being those of any organization to which he may be connected.

He was born in the UK of Scottish ancestry from Aberdeen and a member of the Clan MacDougall. He is a member of the Macedonian community in Newcastle, and speaks fluent Macedonian. While this may seem a contradiction, it is his wife who is Macedonian, and as a result he embraced the Macedonian language and the Orthodox faith.

His interests include aviation and digital photography, and he always enjoys the opportunity to combine the two. Navigate to his Flickr site to see recent additions to his photo library.